The two Riga heavyweights booked their place in the Latvian Cup semi-finals on Sunday, but in strikingly different fashion. Defending Cup holders RFS were made to sweat against Virslīga strugglers Metta in a 3–2 thriller, while league leaders Riga FC demolished second-tier hopefuls Riga Mariners 10–0 at Skonto Stadium.
RFS edge past stubborn Metta
RFS extended their flawless record of reaching the semi-finals in every year of the club’s existence, but only after overcoming a determined Metta side that once again proved a tricky opponent.
A heavily rotated RFS squad struggled to create clear chances early on, yet broke the deadlock in the 37th minute when Petr Mareš picked out Tayrell Wouter inside the box. The Surinamese forward calmly slotted home for his first goal in eight matches.
Just before half-time, Metta struck back. A deflected effort from Alan Kangars was nodded in at close range by Emīls Evelons, who has now scored in back-to-back Cup matches.
The introduction of Serbian midfielder Stefan Panić gave RFS more presence after the break, but Metta continued to threaten on the counter. The turning point came in the 58th minute when Mor Talla’s solo run freed Faycal Konate, recently recalled from his brief loan at BFC Daugavpils, who held off his marker and beat Sorokins for 2–1 – his first goal in RFS colours.
Jānis Ikaunieks seemed to have killed the tie in the 75th minute with a powerful strike after another Mareš assist, but Kangars pulled one back for Metta late on to set up a nervy finale. The underdogs’ hopes faded in stoppage time when captain Kārlis Vilnis was sent off, leaving RFS to breathe a sigh of relief at full time.
Ruthless Riga put ten past Mariners
If RFS had to grind, their city rivals Riga FC cruised. The Virslīga leaders dismantled Riga Mariners, their academy club and top contenders in Latvia’s second division, with a merciless 10–0 display that underlined their squad depth ahead of European action.
Catalan playmaker Brian Peña opened the floodgates after 15 minutes before setting up Costa Rican striker Anthony Contreras to double the lead. Local striker Marko Regža made it 3–0 with a clever finish, and from there the rout was inevitable.
Contreras completed his hat-trick with goals on 53 and 58 minutes, sandwiching a calmly taken penalty, while Reginaldo Ramírez, Glody Ngonda, Abdulrahman Taiwo and debutant Renārs Varslavāns all added their names to the scoresheet. Contreras capped off the evening with Riga’s tenth, his fourth of the match, as the Mariners crumbled following Dennis Rogovs’ straight red card midway through the second half.
The road ahead
The results set up an enticing semi-final lineup, with both RFS and Riga FC once again in the hunt for silverware. RFS remain intent on defending their Cup title for another year, while Riga’s devastating firepower makes them firm favourites to reclaim the Cup embarrassingly lost only the previous season.
